Unsure whether or not to insure your wedding or event?

When planning a wedding there are so many decisions to consider and usually wedding insurance is not one that seems tangible for many and is not even a consideration.  More and more we are seeing a trend in venues requiring clients to produce insurance for their event and including the venue as an added insured.  Even if your venue does not require this from you, we strongly suggest gaining knowledge on what wedding insurance will protect you from.  Luckily, we will take some of the burden off of you and get you started with a little 411.

Let’s start with the basics, a little VOCAB:

Policy – Your insurance contract or certificate of insurance.

Policy Holder – The name in which the insurance policy is registered to.

Negligence – The failure to exercise care that is expected of a reasonable person in similar circumstances.

Deductible – The portion of a claim you pay out-of-pocket.  The higher deductible you choose, the lower your insurance premiums will be.

Damages – Money that one party becomes legally obligated to pay another party.

Liability – Any legally enforceable obligation or responsibility for the injury or damage suffered by another person.

Named Insured – The person or entity listed on the policy declarations page.

Premium – The price of the insurance policy that the insured pays in exchange for insurance coverage.

Ok, now that we have gotten a few common terms out-of-the-way let’s go over two types of insurance you may be obligated, or thinking of getting in preparation of your big day.

Wedding Liability:

This type of insurance covers the bridal couple and their families.  When you hear the word liability – hear the L and think of lawsuit.  This type of coverage protects you from property damage or personal damage.

Let’s say someone falls down the stairs on accident, purely an accident, the couple or their families risk being sued.  Wedding liability insurance addresses the possible consequences of negligence, inebriation, or misconduct.

The fee for this is rather inexpensive and can range anywhere from $50 to $400, depending on where you live.  It can be done online and you will have the coverage in minutes.  Once you go online and find the right plan depending on location, budget, etc., you may then process your payment and print out your proof of insurance.  You can place your venue on your policy as an added insured for a small fee, or possibly free.

You can purchase coverage all the way up to the day before your wedding as well so if you are getting married soon and are reading this don’t flip out, you still can get coverage up to a day in advance.

Wedding Cancellation/Postponement Insurance: 

Let’s say your photographer flakes out on the last-minute and now you are stuck scrambling to find one on the fly, oh and not to mention a hefty fee for last-minute arrangements too.  The insurance will cover these unforeseen expenses.  If you can not find a replacement photographer on the day, it covers you to re-enact the wedding for photographs on a later date.

If severe weather should strike and you have to postpone just think of all of the money you would be loosing out on.  Hotel reservations, all of the vendors fees and deposits, basically a gigantic portion of your budget is just gone into thin air.  If you have wedding cancellation insurance they would cover the expense for you.

This does not cover change of heart cancellations – but this can be added on to certain plans for a fee usually.  Unlike the liability insurance you usually need to have coverage within a few weeks or more of the wedding so be sure to research this in a timely manner.

Now that we have gone over the two types of coverage available decide what will work best for you.  Once you have chosen a plan READ THE FINE PRINT.

We hope this gives you a little insight on a topic that is not often discussed.  While no one wants to imagine any catastrophic even happening on the best day of their lives, be prepared.

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